Darling
by CloudyMonsters
Summary: A one shot fanfiction where Todd Brotzman has a public pararibulitis attack. And Dirk Gently comes to help him out of it.
1. Chapter: 1

Summary:

A one shot fanfiction where Todd Brotzman has a public pararibulitis attack. And Dirk Gently comes to help him out of it.

Chapter 1: https//watch?v=I9kTBXBPPGg

Authors Note: I got the title of this story from the song above so I thought I'd give Ben some cred.

Todd's right hand pulled on the loose strands at the bottom of his blue drug rug hoodie. The other hand rested on the steering wheel, tired eyes barely focused on the road. His hoodie had a bit of an aroma, despite his efforts to repeatedly wash it. The hoodie still always managed to have a stained appearance. Nonetheless, it was one of his favorite hoodies and brought him comfort when he wore it. And at the moment he was very much in need of comfort.

The current situation was this, he forgot his meds and he was driving into town. And he was already halfway down the highway and was not in the mood to turn back around. Dirk was already at the office investigating the now three-day disappearance of the rainbow-haired girl. The case was becoming increasingly moot, even though Dirk and Todd saw this from the beginning. And Dirk didn't want to waste a second on finding her, that meant waking Todd up to find "clues". They had finally got back to their apartment at four, Todd luckily fell asleep quickly. Sadly though his alarm went off at six and he had to heave himself out of his warm bed. Drunk with delirium he mindlessly donned on his hoodie and slipped into some shoes. Fortunately, he had fallen asleep with his jeans and Mexican Funeral t-shirt.

Unfortunately, he left the building without taking his meds or bringing them for later in the day. His plan was just to stay calm until he got his lunch break at the office so he could drive back home and get his meds. At the moment it was hard to keep his thoughts quiet and he was becoming tenser. A piercing ring stung his ears, he made a mental note to change his ring tone. He swerved slightly reaching for the iPhone that he had left in his blue jeans. He slid the call open, not even glancing at the number (he didn't need to). And was met by Dirks loud and enthusiastic voice.

"Where are you, Todd! I set our alarm for five! Please don't tell me you're still in bed!"

"No, I'm on my way now relax." Todd groaned. "And five is too fucking early. So I hit snooze a couple of tim-"

"What?! Todd! We mustn't waste any time it's already been three days!" Dirk retaliated.

"It's ONLY been THREE DAYS Dirk! We still have-"

"I want you to go head back to the car dealership that we visited last night. And question the dealer that had the bandage on remember?"

"Wha- yes I remember! But-"

"Okay perfect, I'll meet you there at noon."

"No, wait! Dirk listen I gotta head back to the apartment! I'm sorry but I left my meds, can I go there then meet you?" Todd questioned but was met with silence. "I swear to god if that asshole hung up on me…" Todd muttered under his breath as he quickly looked at his phone.

The screen was black and showed a red battery symbol, another mental note to put a charger in his car.

"Fuck!" He shouted and threw the phone onto the passenger's seat. He gripped his steering wheel as his thoughts raced. He noticed the large car dealership was literally his next exit, he knew the smart option was to turn back around but he was already so close. He deemed it safe to turn onto the exit. He hadn't had an attack in six weeks and he learned that if he kept his cool he could delay the possibility of an attack.

He took a long deep breath as he revved into the parking lot.The voice in the back of his head was quiet at the moment, all he had to do was keep it that way. He located a free parking slot and drove into it and parked. He turned off the ignition and sighed, melting into the car seat. He could feel a modest buzz beginning to creep on to his skin.

"Stay cool." He reminded himself and got out of the car. He walked through the swollen parking lot. Todd spotted a blue sports car he giggled to himself as he reminisced about the first time meeting Dirk. Somethings just never change, Dirk was an awful driver then and still is now.

Todd shivered faintly as the wind suddenly picked up, he jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. And told himself to ignore his buzzing skin that was beginning to oddly stink from the sudden breeze. He pondered for a minute if he should go back to the apartment and this was just a bad idea. He quickly dispersed the idea, he was already here and it would probably be quick. The guy last night didn't seem too suspicious and his head injury was from a car accident. It made sense the guy worked with cars a lot and he was around them a lot…? Right? Todd shook his head, he was going to be fine.

He finally reached the silver lucid doors, he pushed one open hoping to find warm air. Instead, he was hit with even colder air, he visibly shook for a moment. The buzzing was slowly turning painful and stung his flesh. However, he didn't dare look down for he feared he would find a hallucination. And the moment he would give into the hallucination, it would take over and he would panic. He inhaled deeply and ignored the growing pain.

He hurried to the front desk, vaguely shaking and asked if Robert Lance was working today? The man behind the desk looked a bit worried at Todd, then typed away at his clunky computer.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be working today. Why would you like to see him, sir? Car trouble?" The man asked as he pushed up his slim fit glasses.

"Uh...yeah, yeah car trouble." Todd stuttered, he was growing more anxious by the minute.

"Alright, I'll call him to see if he's available at the mome-"

"Ah-Actually um it's kind of urgent I need to see him like right away." Todd interrupted, form becoming more unstable. His arms were starting to throb with stinging pain, he kept his head up.

"Well, sir, I don't know if he's with another client now or no-"

"PLEASE!" Todd's voice cracking as he involuntarily shouted. "Please, s-sorry I just really ne- AGH!" He felt an abrupt sharp pain in his arms that caused him to jerk his head down. There he saw two bloody needles poking out from his torn flesh and hoodie. And about ten other growing needles pushing underneath his fragile skin to break free. Shocked he pulled up his trembling hands to see. He bit his tongue as he stifled the pressure building inside his throat to scream.

"Sir…!?" The man with the glasses was now eye level, the face was etched with concern.

"L-listen, I just-" He took a big gulp of air trying to calm his breathing and his shaking body. His efforts were fruitless as he felt a burning sensation in his chest. Todd hated himself for once again glancing down to find needles tearing through his chest and out his sweatshirt. He could no longer hold back the scream. Doubling over, he gripped the desk for dear life as he watched more needles rip through.

"Oh my god, sir! Are you alright?!" The man behind the desk was shouting.

"Hmm." Was the only thing that Todd could get out. His breath was coming too fast and he felt his entire body roar in pain. It was too much he couldn't handle, he knew it was just a hallucination but he felt that he was going to die. Still hunched over he noticed that his whole chest had turned his blue hoodie into a dark red. There was too much blood, his tearing skin was agonizing to watch and feel. He grabbed his hair and painfully tugged on the roots, trying to ground his mind.

"Should I call an ambulance?" frantically asked the man.

Todd tried to speak but all that came out was a desperate wheeze for help then his chest felt tight. And his eyelids became too heavy to hold open, so he blacked out.


	2. Chapter: 2

Chapter 2:

Todd awoke to blinding lights and a burning chest, he tried to sit up but was pushed down lightly by a soft hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. Annoyed with the cold hard ground he was laying on top of. He noticed that his ears were ringing when he heard a faint muffled of his name being called. Slowly the ringing dissipated and his eyes adjusted to the overhead light.

"Todd?" Quizzed a distinctly British voice. "Are you alright?"

Todd squinted and his boyfriend Dirk came into focus, he smirked slightly. His smile quickly ran off when Todd saw the worry in Dirk's eyes.

"What happened?" Todd's brows came together in confusion.

"Well I… I think you had an attack," Dirk replied carefully, steadily rubbing Todd's forearm with his thumb.

"I…" Todd's eyes searched the empty air, then his eyes widened. "I did!" His breath hitched as he realized he was still in the car dealership and that all of these people had seen him. His face became flushed and his eyes stung with embarrassment when he noticed the man behind the desk was kneeling next to Dirk. Todd swiftly grabbed Dirks hand and pulled, looking at him with stern eyes.

"Todd?" Dirk looked intently at Todd puzzled by this sudden movement. "I want to go home. Right.Now." Todd spoke very clearly and pushed himself up too rapidly. A wave of dizziness hit him like a brick and he fell back down, giving Dirk a quick fright.

"Alright yes, we can leave but we've got to take this slowly yeah?" Dirk questioned reassuringly. Todd's only response was a curt nod, face still bright as a cherry in spring. Dirk placed a steady hand on Todd's sweaty back and together they pushed and pulled until Todd was in an upright position. A small bout of dizziness hit Todd again and he gripped Dirks' arm.

"Alright?" Dirk sent him a worried look. Todd nodded once again and shot Dirk a reassuring look. Dirk took Todd's hand and gently pulled up, still keeping a hand on Todd's back. And together they slowly arose until both of them were standing. Once the third small spell of dizziness was gone Todd hurriedly pushed Dirk and walked straight out. Not even checking to see if Dirk would follow. All he wanted to do since he entered that damn building was to get right back out and that's what he was doing. He didn't want a second longer to see the faces of strangers giving him looks of pity or shame. He shook his head and breathed in the cool outside air then sped walk to his car.

"Todd!" Dirk shouted from behind him. Todd still paying no attention unlocked the passenger side door and hopped in without missing a beat. Dirk ripped open the driver side door soon after.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Dirk shouted as he ducked into the car seat, slamming the door shut.

"I can't drive at the moment." Todd tossed Dirk the keys. His cheeks were still flushed and he felt his heart pound.

"Would you drive?" Todd kept his eyes forward as they began to fill.

"What?" Dirk fumbled but caught the silver keys. "Aren't we gonna tal-"

"Would you please!" Todd realized he was yelling and became quiet once again. "Just drive."

"Okay." Dirk agreed and jammed the keys into the ignition turning the old car on. Dirk sighed and leaned back on the seat waiting for the engine to heat up. He was looking at a dead bug on the windshield when he heard a soft cracked sorry from Todd. He looked over to see Todd's head in his palms and his shoulders slightly shaking as he quietly sobbed.

"What…?" Dirk slid a hand down his back. "No Todd! You have nothing to be sorry for!"

"I'm a fucking embarrassment Dirk I-" Todd gasped.

"You are no such thing!" Dirk rubbed Todd's back then clasped his neck. "Listen, Todd of all the people I'm the one who should be apologizing!" Dirk stated as he kneaded Todd's dark soft hair.

"But it was my fault I forgot my pil-" Todd glanced up at Dirk with tear-stained cheeks.

"Its.Not.Your.Fault." Dirk briskly place his hands on either side of Todd's face and met his eyes with a firm look. " I ran you way too late last night and then expected too much from you in the morning. You have no reason to be sorry. I am the one that is sorry Todd." Todd pulled his face from Dirk's grip and looked down at the ground to think.

"I've been a real" Todd gazed back up at his boyfriend lit blue eyes and his pointing finger. "A real douchebag." Dirk expressed in a terrible American accent. Todd couldn't help the smile that crawled on to his face nor could he help the laugh that shortly erupted after.

"Oh, now you for sure can't make fun of my British accent!" Todd chuckled wiping his eyes.

"Oh alright fine! Shall we head home love?" Dirk giggled in return.

"Yes, darling we should!" Todd snickered through a poor British accent.

On that note, Dirk grinned and backed up the car.


End file.
